What goes into making a crossover star and style phenomenon? Meet Cristina Ehrlich, the driving force behind Priyanka Chopra’s newfound style. The accolade-sweeping stylist is responsible for many a memorable red-carpet moments for stars like Penélope Cruz, Allison Williams, Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, amongst others. From the emoji evoking red dress, to the trailing trench coat dress that launched a hundred memes, Ehrlich’s touch has elevated Priyanka Chopra’s style from ‘best dressed’ to one that warrants conversation.

Vogue spoke to the star behind the star.

How would you describe Priyanka Chopra’s sense of style?She has a lot of creative freedom and likes to play around with wearing different looks. She really gets into every detail of a look, down to the small details like the colour of her nails, to what shoes she is wearing. She is like an artist; you can see she has fun with it and doesn’t like to get lost in a crowd. In a way, she is a stylist’s dream. She likes to use her voice and fashion to express her different moods.

And how would you say you have influenced her style?My take on it is that, when Priyanka came to New York for different roles than she plays in India, she wanted to collaborate with someone who could open her eyes to fashion, more from the American perspective. I have a very European style, so that was a common denominator for us—where she knew I would push her a little but her style would remain true to who she is. She has a very strong sense of style and knows what she likes.

Priyanka is a global celebrity who has a strong fan following with the India audience. As a stylist, which audience’s taste do you cater to?Working with Priyanka is a complete collaboration. She is my audience and I feel that with her sensibility of fashion with India, she likes to play with different silhouettes and colours. There is something about her that no matter what the look is, there is usually a strong point of view. She isn’t someone who puts half a look together. She likes to have a reason behind why or what she is wearing. She is incredibly porous and really loves the collaboration and depending on the day, she likes to do different things—she loves urban street wear, is inspired by music and model off-duty looks. She is very versatile and will try anything from a pair of men’s pants to a pyjama look, to a classic bombshell moment.

What do think of her style in India?She has a different team in India. We’ve had some dialogue, but when she goes to India, she works with her team there. To date, I haven’t collaborated with them but I think it would be fun and am open to it! I think her style in India has a little more ease and an effortlessness to it that is very whimsical. Typically, when she is there, she is on the run with a very busy schedule.

How do you think her style has evolved?Priyanka has a great appreciation for fashion and a strong eye for her personal style and what she likes. She is not interested in playing it safe and likes to dress according to her mood. I think her style is in a constant evolution and will continue to evolve and change because it is a reflection of who she is as a person and what she is feeling at that particular moment.

What are the challenges styling Priyanka Chopra?There really aren’t any, except that she has a very busy schedule and she is always on the go. I always need to make sure she has everything she needs when she leaves on a press tour or another event and to have enough back-up options for her.

What are your favourite looks seen on her?Of course her Met Ball Ralph Lauren trench coat look, the fluorescent purple Costume Nationale turtle-neck dress that she wore on the top of the Empire State Building, the red Jason Wu dress, the Carolina Herrera denim look she wore to a book signing event, the Marc Jacobs long-sleeve lace dress she wore in Berlin, the Michael Kors long gown that we chopped to make it tea-length, the polka-dot Altuzzura dress she wore to a Veuve Clicquot event and the Public School menswear inspired suit-look with the cut out detailing at the shoulders.

Tell us about the show-stopping Met Gala trench coat look.We literally had her first fitting 48 hours before the event because she had been travelling out of the country. We had just had a great home run with her gold Ralph Lauren Golden Globes dress, so we knew that we had to go big or go home for the Met Gala. We were talking about ideas with Ralph and we knew that she didn’t want to go to the event and not stick out.

Her first reaction to the coat-dress was that she was a little nervous about the fabric weight, the sleeves, etc, but once she had her fitting she really got into it. For me, that event was really a testament how beautiful a collaboration can be when the trust is there and the stars are aligned and it all comes together.

What were the highlights from your Paris Couture Week trip with Priyanka Chopra?Priyanka was a guest of Mr Armani’s. We put her in something a bit less classic Armani when we styled the look with a men’s shoe—which we both loved. When you have a woman like Priyanka with a bombshell body, there is an obvious way to dress her—but she was very open to going in a different direction and didn’t mind being a little tomboy, which was so fun for us both!

What are your rules of red carpet dressing?It is important for me to be able to look back five or ten years from now and feel proud of my work. For me, styling is not about playing off of current trends, it is about collaborating with my clients so together we create the right look for that particular event and that they feel unique and special in what they are wearing.